Grace Episcopal Church is a historic church at 360 East Chicago Street in

Jonesville, Michigan Jonesville is a city in Hillsdale County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,176 at the 2020 census. History The area was first settled by brothers Benaiah and Edmund Jones, who came here from Painesville, Ohio in 1828 and purcha ...

. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1971. It is one of the first church buildings constructed in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

west of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, and is one of the few surviving examples of indigenous church architecture in the state.

History

In 1833, the Episcopal missionary William N. Lyster left Ireland for the United States, and eventually became the restor of a mission in

Tecumseh, Michigan Tecumseh is a city in Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the River Raisin. Tecumseh is about southwest of Detroit, south of Ann Arbor, and north of Toledo, Ohio. The main street of downtown is Chicago Boulevard, also designat ...

. From there, he traveled throughout southern Michigan to minister to isolated communities; in 1836 he held the first church service in Jonesville. Two years later, a parish was organized by Darius Barker. In 1844, the congregation began constructing this church; it was completed on November 15, 1848, at a cost of $3,000. In 1946, an old schoolhouse was moved to the site of the church to serve as a parish hall. The church was deconsecrated and sold in 2007, and then served as a coffee house. In 2021, the church was purchased by investors. The fellowship area has been renovated into a rentable AirBNB site that can sleep up to six people. The sanctuary is being refurnished and can be used for events such as weddings.

Description

Grace Episcopal Church is a 1-1/2 story rectangular

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

frame structure covered in

clapboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...

. The building has a single-story projecting entry vestibule, atop which is a square tower which intersects with the main structure. Square pilasters run up each corner of the building, and both the entry projection and the main structure are topped with a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

roof. Gothic double-arched lancet windows line the sides of the building, providing the building with a somewhat rare mix of Greek Revival and Gothic styles. Similar single-arched windows are on each side of the entry vestibule. Black walnut paneling lined the interior, and the pews are constructed of the same wood. A small altar, also of black walnut, is set amongst

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es.

History

Description

References

Further reading